The present invention relates to a sensing system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a MEMS (microelectromechanical system) based sensing system for measuring the properties of a sample, including detecting the presence of a measurand in a sample. As used herein, the term “measurand” means a particular kind of matter, organic or inorganic, such as a particular chemical, protein, virus, allergen, pathogen, molecule, analyte, etc., that is to be detected and/or measured.
Various types of sensing systems for measuring the properties of fluids (i.e., liquids and gases) are known in the art, such as, for example, systems for measuring the viscosity of oil. Additionally, various types of sensing systems for detecting the presence of a particular measurand are known in the art, such as, for example, systems for detecting the presence of protein molecules in a sample. MEMS based sensing systems have been developed. However, there remains a need for improved accurate, sensitive, reliable, inexpensive sensing systems.